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“You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart — your stories, visions, memories, visions and songs. Your truth, your version of things, your own voice. That is really all you have to offer us. And that’s also why you were born.”
Anne Lamott

“You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart — your stories, visions, memories, visions and songs. Your truth, your version of things, your own voice. That is really all you have to offer us. And that’s also why you were born.”
Anne Lamott

Category: Heading out or Holding On

Heading Out or Holding On? (3)

George 0 Comments

When encountering crisis, or navigating rushing rapids, holding on is not a viable option. As recognized in the previous post, holding on is a natural instinct, avoiding immediate disaster but insufficient for ultimate survival. Our amygdala induced response to crisis overrides rational response. In a previous post, I wrote about dynamic stability. I think the concept is helpful in trying to understand what it means to head out.
Dynamic Stability
When so many things are accelerating at once, it’s easy to feel like you’re in a kayak in rushing white water, being carried along by the current at a faster and faster clip. In such conditions, there is an almost irresistible temptation to do the instinctive thing—but the wrong thing: stick your paddle in the water to try to slow down.
“Why ‘Keep Your Paddle in the Water’ Is Bad Advice for Beginners.” Have you ever stopped to consider what the phrase “keep your paddle in the water” actually means? If you did you wouldn’t ever recommend it to a beginner whitewater paddler. The paddlers and instructors who give this advice are well intended and what they are really expressing is: “Keep paddling to maintain your stability through rapids.” When beginners hear “keep your paddle in the water,” they end up doing a bad version of a rudder dragging their paddle in the water back by their stern while using their blade to steer. This is a really bad position to be in … To enhance stability in rapids it’s important to move as fast or faster than the current. Every time you rudder or drag your paddle in the water to steer you lose momentum and that makes you more vulnerable to flipping over.
The only way to thrive is by maintaining dynamic stability—[a] bike-riding trick …But what is the [spiritual] equivalent of paddling as fast as the water or maintaining dynamic stability? 

Kayaking rapids is an appropriate metaphor for our experience of chaos in 2020 and our immediate future.

Heading Out… responding faithfully and creatively to change, dangers and opportunities of chaos.
Another way to illustrate holding on and heading out in crisis is driving an automobile. A treacherous experience driving can occur when you drift to the side and your wheels suddenly drop off the pavement. The immediate, and sometimes fatal, reaction is to jerk the steering wheel hard left to get back on the road. [Hold on] . Survival depends on a resisting panic and using proper techniques to avoid disaster. [Head Out]

What is it that keeps us from succumbing to panic and reacting in dangerous ways? Despite instruction and warnings.
Heading Out… is the equivalent of …firmly grasp the wheel, do not hit the brakes, slow down and carefully return to the road…”

Although the idea of Holding On or Heading Out when faced with crisis, is applicable to everyone, my concern is for Christ followers.
How Christ followers respond to crisis is shaped by our view of faith.
Some, like myself early on, view faith as finite and bounded, something to be achieved and defended. Richard Rohr describes this view of faith well:

“If you surrender to the fear of uncertainty, life can become a set of insurance policies. Your short time on this earth becomes small and self-protective, a kind of circling of the wagons around what you can be sure of and what you think you can control–even God. It provides you with the illusion that you are in the driver’s seat, navigating on safe, small roads, and usually in a single, predetermined direction that can take you only where you have already been. For far too many people, no life journey is necessary because we think we already have all our answers at the beginning. ‘

For them, …holding on… is the only option. There is no capacity to see opportunity, only danger. What results are outcomes described in the previous post. HERE

…holding on… is the only option. There is no capacity to see opportunity, only danger.


Over the course of life I have come to view faith differently, I wrote previously:

I believe our lives are a journey. A healthy life is characterized by growth and change. Each day holds the prospect of adventure and discovery. Life is not defined by seeking a safe place and hunkering down insulated and protected from the world around us. Each of us possesses a deep longing to go home. To find our way to that place that we were created for. The pathway we take is not always pleasant and there are dangers to be dealt with. But, there are many beautiful experiences along the way. Wonderful relationships with people. Beautiful sights and sounds and smells.
We do not travel alone. Our creator leads us and watches over us. He gives all that we need for our journey. We meet many people along the way. Some of them join us our journey. Some we encounter briefly. Some encourage us and offer provision of our journey. Others do not understand and become enemies bent on disrupting our pilgrimage. No matter what happens to us along the way, we continue to travel toward our destination because we trust our creator who loves us and will not abandon us on our journey. He has promised us life.

…thinking about life as a journey reminds me to stop trying to set up camp and call it home. It allows me to see life as a process, with completion somewhere down the road. Thus I am freed from feeling like a failure when things are not finished, and hopeful that they will be as my journey comes to its end.I want adventure, and this reminds me that I am living in it. Life is not a problem to be solved, it is an adventure to be lived.
John Eldridge 

It is easy to be deceived into thinking Holding On keeps us safe, but life is dynamic.
Since Adam, when we, God’s created beings, rebelled and lost our home in God, we were destined to be restless wanders searching for a homeland. A thread that runs through the history of God’s dealing with mankind is the reality of their status as restless wanders in this world. 
Jesus said, “Follow me”. As he carried out his ministry, he wandered about, without house or home. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Jesus did not say he was “the place” but  “I am the Way”

As followers of Christ we have not arrived. We are people on “The Way, we are no longer restless wanders but are pilgrims bound for the homeland. As pilgrims we are “Heading Out”. Restless spiritual wandering becomes a spiritual journey following Christ. 

In 2020 and now 2021 we are navigating dangerous rapids. These are times that expose the character of our faith.

The next post will examine the idea of dynamic stability for Christ followers in the rushing waters of our chaotic society.

Still on the journey.

Heading Out or Holding On (2)

George 0 Comments

In my previous post, reflecting on my sermon from 2004, I realized how relevant it is today. Although circumstances are different, 2004 and 2020 each have brought crisis into our lives. As my good friend reminded me:

…for CRISIS… the Chinese term for that has 2 characters…
– danger; – opportunity! (Thanks Eva)

In 2020/2021 crisis brings great danger and great opportunity. The question is how will we respond? In my experience, when crisis arises, personally or organizationally, our default is to hold on. To choose otherwise depends upon our ability to discern both danger and opportunity in our crisis.
To hold on, is a natural response … necessary for survival. However, without any vision for opportunity, holding on paralyzes, delaying the enviable. Referencing my sermon notes this post will examine what I believe it means to hold on and some perils of choosing to do so..

In the twilight of my career at Ford, I attempted to mentor a promising young manager. My usual greeting was, “How are you doing?”. His repeated response was, “Surviving!” Without much success, I tried impress on him, surviving doesn’t bode well for climbing the corporate ladder. Perhaps we don’t think of our response to crisis as holding on as much as surviving. To hold on or survive is a difference without distinction. Neither bode well for the future. The following are outcomes of choosing to hold on… survive.

  • Denial.– Emotional disbelief, “This can’t be happening”, can morph into irrational “This isn’t happening.” and, for some, becomes unassailable truth. In any case, denial assures one of two outcomes: destruction or irrelevance.
    Denial is like stopping your car on a a busy freeway with traffic going 70 mph.
    For organizations, denial is a Blockbuster strategy.
  • Hunker Down – A panic response to inherent danger. Seemingly, rational, in retrospect its flaws are revealed. Think of “Heads Up” when dangerous objects are descending, or “Hit the Deck” falling spread eagle on the ground making oneself at better target.
    For organizations it is “circle the wagons”.
    Biblically it is the one talent man. “… I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.”
  • Avoidance– Relocate and yearn for what was.  A “Jonah” response.
    “The word of the Lord came to Jonah [crisis]…’Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it …’ But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.” …”I’m out of here!”.
    For those with nowhere to go, it is “sticking your head in the sand”.
    Organizationally it is the urban church that relocates to the suburbs when faced with societal crisis.
  • Despair – toss in the towel and admit defeat . Elijah: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”
    “Whatever”…”What’s the use?” … “You can’t believe anyone.”…
    Hopelessness is a child of failure to perceive opportunity in crisis.

In these times of unprecedented crisis, I have recognize these outcomes, to varying degrees, in both myself and others. This is troubling because I believe God does not want me to Hold On but, Head Out, responding creatively to crisis with its dangers and opportunities.

The next post… Heading Out.

Heading Out or Holding On

George 0 Comments

There is an old story about an Arkansas fisherman … legendary for his success and secretive about his methods. The game warden, suspicious , insisted that he accompany him fishing, hoping to learn his secrets.
Fisherman and game warden in a boat, arrived at a prime fishing spot. The fisherman reached under his seat, pulled out a stick of dynamite, and tossed it into the water with a subsequent explosion. Fish floated to the surface and the fisherman began to gather his catch. The game warden, furious, began to protest and threaten to arrest him.The fisherman quietly retrieved another stick of dynamite, lit the fuse handed it to the game warden and said, “Are you going to talk or are you going to fish?”

As I think about the times we live in and realize the magnitude, rapidity and epoch proportions of the changes that are occurring, I feel more and more like that game warden. 

I believe we are a rare and unique point in the history of the world. We are in maelstrom of change that only occurs when mankind moves from one age to another. The change is immense and unprecedented. The emergence of the new age is like hurricane Mitch in October 1998. It stalled off the coast of Honduras and pumped 100” of rain. The resulting floods and landslides were estimated to have killed 10,000 people. Change is always constantly happening but what is happening now is like Hurricane Mitch. 100” of rain is not unusual for year but when the change comes all at once the landscape is completely altered. Maps that were previously used are no longer useful. Structures that use to serve become tourist attractions. 

The Choluteca bridge is a 484 m. long bridge in Honduras in a region notorious for storms and hurricanes. The bridge, completed in 1998, was a modern marvel of engineering, designed to withstand powerful forces of nature. But as it turns out, in the same year that the bridge was commissioned for use, Honduras was hit by Hurricane Mitch, which caused considerable damage to the nation and its infrastructure.
Many other bridges were damaged, but the Choluteca bridge survived in near perfect condition. However, roads on either end of the bridge completely vanished, leaving no visible trace of their prior existence. More impressively, the Choluteca River (which is several hundred feet wide) had carved itself a new channel during the massive flooding caused by the hurricane. It no longer flowed beneath the bridge, which now spanned dry ground. The bridge quickly became known as “The Bridge to Nowhere.”

Change brings crisis. The word for crisis in Chinese means danger and opportunity. The Hebrew word for crisis is mash-ber, a  word which is also used for birth stool, a seat upon which a woman in ancient times sat as she gave birth.

What we have before us is both great danger and great opportunity. The question is how will we respond?

I believe there are two basic strategies. The history of Christianity could be written in two volumes. One would feature the story of those who, answered the phone and when they got the message, hung up, got moving and headed out. The other would feature those who never hung up and just hold on.

Full disclosure.. the previous was the introduction to a sermon I preached on December 26, 2004. I stumbled on it looking through old files and was struck by its relevance to 2021. The imagery of Choluteca bridge is apt metaphor. I, like many, am feeling like “A bridge to nowhere”. Intact, but stripped of things that I have relied upon for meaning, purpose and direction.
Even more than 2004..
What we have before us is both great danger and great opportunity. The question is how will we respond?

In succeeding posts I will share my sermon thoughts about what it means to Hold On or Head Out. Sermon transcript is available upon request 🙂

Not remembering 2004 clearly, I was not sure what precipitated my sermon topic, perhaps it related to church and personal circumstances. However, researching 2004 I was surprised at the breath and depth of events that year. Here are a few:

  • The CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. 
  • Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid kill 190 people. Five suspects blow themselves up.
  • A World Aid Report tells of 5 million new cases in 2004 and 3 million people died
  • Japan is hit with multiple earthquakes and multiple typhoons causing major loss of life and major damage to the economy
  • Siege at a school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia. At least 335 people (among which at least 32 of the approximately 40 hostage-takers) have been killed and at least 700 people have been injured.
  • After striking Grenada, Jamaica and Cuba Hurricane Ivan strikes mainland US with winds in excess of 130MPH causing massive damage and loss of life.
  • Hurricane Jeanne killed over 3,000, most in Haiti.
  • First Same Sex Marriage Performed in Massachusetts 
  • The strongest earthquake in 40 years originates from the Indian Ocean close to Indonesia, measuring 9.3 on the Richter Scale. Creating tsunami waves that sweep across much of the coastlines of Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. At least 290,000 people are confirmed to have died from South Asia to as far as South Africa.
  • Janet Jackson’s breast is briefly exposed by Justin Timberlake during the Super Bowl halftime show
  • Facebook is launched as a social networking site only open to students from Harvard in February by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. It is expanded first to other colleges in the Boston area and other Ivy League Colleges
  • Fox Hunting is outlawed in the UK

Still on the Journey